Kim oversees North Korea's upgraded rocket and missile tests

Kim Jong Un personally oversaw tests of an upgraded 240-millimeter, 24-tube multiple rocket launcher system, tactical ballistic missiles and a 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer, pushing North Korea’s artillery and missile modernization program back into view. The rocket launcher was described as having an autonomous precision-guidance system and an extended firing range of 90 kilometers, or about 56 miles.

Kim said he was satisfied with the results and stressed automation, long-range capability and ultra-precision. The systems on display pointed to a familiar but pointed message to Washington, Seoul and Tokyo: North Korea is still investing in weapons that can strike quickly, complicate defenses and advertise military progress even under sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

The 240-millimeter launcher matters because North Korea has long used this class of rocket system to keep Seoul and other South Korean targets within reach. The CSIS Missile Defense Project says North Korea’s 240-millimeter M1985 and M1991 multiple launch rocket systems remain a key means of holding Seoul and South Korea at risk. 38 North said Kim’s party congress report earlier this year called for reinforcing deployments of the KN-25 and other short-range ballistic missiles, along with new-type 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, to greatly increase the density and durability of concentrated attacks against South Korea.

The latest test fits a pattern that has continued through 2026. In May, North Korea said Kim oversaw tests of a new lightweight multi-purpose missile launcher and a multiple tactical cruise missile weapon system. In January, state media said the country tested an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system. Together, the demonstrations suggest North Korea is iterating on road-mobile rocket, artillery and tactical missile systems that can be moved, concealed and fired in short order.

That makes this test less a dramatic breakthrough than another incremental step in a broader force-building campaign. The new guidance and range on the 240-millimeter system sharpen an already familiar threat, while the inclusion of tactical ballistic missiles and a self-propelled howitzer shows that Pyongyang is still broadening its conventional strike options along the southern border.